Has your spouse visa ever been denied?

However, if your visa application fails there are other options such as moving to another EU/EEA country.  It's not exactly the best time to be looking for work in another country, but it's an alternative to LDRs in some worst case scenarios.

How do you go about moving to the EU, my husband got his spouse visa refused  he's American and i haven't seen him since Oct 2008 we don't want to use up savings, has its so hard to put them back and with an upcoming appeal every penny counts.

do you mind if I asked the circumstances to which it was denied?

do you mind if I asked the circumstances to which it was denied?

You'll find an extensive thread on that particular application here:
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=49538.msg711693#msg711693

and

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=52317.0

and

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=52608.0

How do you go about moving to the EU, my husband got his spouse visa refused  he's American and i haven't seen him since Oct 2008 we don't want to use up savings, has its so hard to put them back and with an upcoming appeal every penny counts.

Ok, most countries in the EU (and EEA countries like Iceland and Norway) you can just move there.  Ireland and the UK you cannot.  Well, you can, but then the non-EEA has to go out of the country to apply for the permit later (doesn't need to be your home country or country of residence).  Each country is going to have a different rule for when you have to notify the authorities.  However, all you need is to be travelling together with your passports and marriage certificate.  However, the marriage has to be legal in the country you're moving.  If the country requires that you be 21 to marry in their country not move there as an spouse of a citizen or resident (I don't think there are any that do), you may have problems.  They are required to let you in provided you have proof of identity and proof of marriage and you are travelling together (unless you are a threat to security or health).  This is a fairly new change, and it wasn't always this way.  

Once in the country, you would have at least 3 months to find a job, start a business, or prove you can support yourselves.  If you guys are the ones with the £10,000 inheritance, it shouldn't be a problem.

Pick a country.  Read what they require for registration of EEA nationals and their families.  You can apply for the permit ahead of time (I think all countries offer them and they are free).  If you apply ahead of time, you have to show that you're exercising your treaty rights or have the money.  

ETA:  This is probably a lot different than some of the people who have EEA Family Permits from the UK or Ireland have experienced because the UK and Ireland have the requirement about out of country applications.  It's also different than it was in the past because this has changed.  The EEA and EU website has the most up to date information on this, but the individual countries will have more information on what's required once you get there.  He will eventually be able to apply for permanant EEA residency.

In order to enter visa free or to have immediate rights to work, your spouse has to enter with you if they don't have the Family Permit.  You staying there past 3 months will rely upon your getting a job, not him (or you starting a business or going to school, however I think you need to show you have insurance for the latter two options).


http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/nav/en/citizens/living/right-residence-up-3-moths/for-family-members-who-are-not-citizens/index_en.html


ETA2: You cannot use EEA rules to bring your husband to the UK unless you hold a citizenship in another EEA country (such as Ireland).

Thanks for your reply it was really helpful and informative

How long would we have to live in a EU/EEA country for my husband to be able to apply for permanant EEA residency.

Would we have to arrive in the country together i.e me fly over to the USA and fly back with him?

Thanks for your reply it was really helpful and informative

How long would we have to live in a EU/EEA country for my husband to be able to apply for permanant EEA residency.

Would we have to arrive in the country together i.e me fly over to the USA and fly back with him?

It's usually 5 years (I think) for permanent EEA residency.  I am not an expert on immigration matters, but this is what I found out through research.  We're exploring our options in case my ILR is denied in the autumn.

You do need to travel together for him to have the right to enter a country unless he has a permit.  I can't see of any other way that he could prove to the immigration officers that he is married to an EEA national exercising her treaty rights without the permit.

But as I said, the process varies from country to country.

A site with an international job search, links to country by country policy for registrations, etc.,:

http://ec.europa.eu/eures/home.jsp?lang=en

ETA2: You cannot use EEA rules to bring your husband to the UK unless you hold a citizenship in another EEA country (such as Ireland).

Not stricktly speaking true. There is always the Surinder Singh route. http://www.ncadc.org.uk/archives/filed%20newszines/oldnewszines/Old%201-50/news17/don.html

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/ecg/eunationalsschemes/eeafamilypermit#14763111
This involves living in an EU country with your spouse exercising your treaty rights for at least 6 months (I believe), then you can return to the UK under Surinder Singh route (EU rules).

I used Ken at Allstar for my Fiancee visa app that went through LA. I can't rec them enough. Super attentive and very professional. They have an onsite former IO to check your docs too.

Just a little figure that helped ease my mind while going through this--I believe Garry said that something like <5% of settlement visa applications from the US are refused, and I believe someone else on here said when they *are* refused, it's usually because of a document being missing, or as Weby mentioned, finances.

As far as Global VIP, they did get the job done as my visa was processed less than 24 hours after it was received at the consulate. I can't complain about that. But seriously, beware any advice given. I was very anxious and confused about I was told, and I wonder what a state I would have been in had I not been reading up on these requirements for months or had UKY to refer to.

There are basically four points you need to prove:

--yours and your husband's identity
--that you both have enough money to support yourselves (I believe the figure is 100.95 pounds per week left over after living expenses)
--that you are in a legitimate marriage
--that you have suitable accommodation

I drafted up a post about my experience going through this over here at livejournal if you want to take a look at it (and I would certainly welcome comments from UKY members to help make it more accurate).

http://community.livejournal.com/brits_americans/1470548.html?view=30558036#t30558036

Good luck!

There are basically four points you need to prove:

--yours and your husband's identity
[. . . .]

I'd add just one point to this--you are also responsible for proving your sponsor (husband)'s permission to be in the UK.  For most of us applying for spousal visas our sponsors are British citizens by birth, so this is easy.  It's why we send in the sponsor's passport/certified copy of passport/original birth certificate and photocopy of passport.  Also, the applicant has to prove his/her permission to be in the country where the application is being made.  That's why we're asked to send naturalisation/immigration info pertaining to US status with the supporting documents.  For US citizens by birth this request is irrelevant, but naturalised citizens or other legal immigrants to the US would need to supply it.  Likewise if a sponsor wasn't a UK citizen by birth s/he would (probably, I've never heard of a case where this actually happened) have to supply additional proof of his/her permission to be in the UK and to sponsor another immigrant. 

Just a small point   

To add to what historyenne said, you also need to show your UK spouse supports your application.  Just a short letter saying he or she wants you to join him or her in the UK.

Not stricktly speaking true. There is always the Surinder Singh route. http://www.ncadc.org.uk/archives/filed%20newszines/oldnewszines/Old%201-50/news17/don.html

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/ecg/eunationalsschemes/eeafamilypermit#14763111
This involves living in an EU country with your spouse exercising your treaty rights for at least 6 months (I believe), then you can return to the UK under Surinder Singh route (EU rules).

Yeah, I was wondering about travel.  I had read about Surinder Singh yonks ago, but that's about settlement right? What about people who haven't been exercising their treaty rights for 6 months and want to travel to their home country for a brief visit with their spouses?  Would they then have to prove they have extensive ties the EEA country they live in to show they wouldn't settle in the UK? Or is it advisable just to wait until you have an EEA2 (or whatever) permit to visit the UK?  It's obvious that the UK can go beyond asking the basic questions about relationship and for identity of their own citizens when they enter together.  A couple where one spouse is a non-EEA national, the other is an EEA national not from the UK would not be able to be questioned even about plans to settle or length of stay.

After reading what I have about how immigration for spouses of other EEA nationals in their home countries is handled (let alone how they'd be handled in the UK when traveling together or under a Family Permit), I am a bit shocked that the UK gets away with the costs, stress, and planned future points based crap.  The Government has admitted that immigration fees have become a way to raise funds.  There is no excuse that family applications for UK nationals should have to be subject to this extra burden.

ETA: I guess how the HO is getting around issuing EEA permits and stamps for non-UK nationals and their families is to drag their feet on them.  They are meant to be processed in 6 months, but from what I am reading, they can take up to a year to process in the UK.

That's why we're asked to send naturalisation/immigration info pertaining to US status with the supporting documents.  For US citizens by birth this request is irrelevant, but naturalised citizens or other legal immigrants to the US would need to supply it.  

Minor nitpick- naturalised US citizens applying for UK visas have US passports, just like US citizens from birth.  They wouldn't need to send in any additional proof of their immigration status.

Ireland and the UK you cannot.  Well, you can, but then the non-EEA has to go out of the country to apply for the permit later (doesn't need to be your home country or country of residence).

This isn't the case in Ireland for an American spouse of an EU citizen (such as British).  If you don't require a visa to enter Ireland (which American citizens don't) then you simply make the application from within Ireland.  The application for a 5 year residence card is form EU1. (This is the Irish equivalent of the UK's EEA2)

http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/EU%20Treaty%20Rights

So, an alternative could be moving to Ireland, exercizing an economic Treaty right (working, self-employed) for at least 6 months, and then re-locate to the UK under the Surinder Singh rule.

Thanks for all this info, its given us a lot of food for thought on other avenues we could take if the appeal isn't successful

Even though an American citizen doesn't need a visa to enter Ireland, would it be advisable to first gain entry clearance if you have a passport which contains refused entry stamps in it from the UK?

Would I (the spouse) have to be ready and waiting in Ireland with a job etc before my husband would be able to come over and join me?

Sorry I'm just a little confused on the initial procedures that i would have to undertake to first allow us to be in Ireland together.

Thanks all

Even though an American citizen doesn't need a visa to enter Ireland, would it be advisable to first gain entry clearance if you have a passport which contains refused entry stamps in it from the UK?

The Irish system is set up differently than the UK system; there is no prior entry clearance granted for those that don't require a visa to enter Ireland.

Would I (the spouse) have to be ready and waiting in Ireland with a job etc before my husband would be able to come over and join me?

You wouldn't have to already have a job (you'd then be considered a job seeker)
prior to your husband coming over, though it definitely wouldn't hurt. If you are planning on using time in Ireland as a way to return to the UK, appreciate that you must have been exercising an economic Treaty right in Ireland so having a job or being self employed would be essential. If you are not entering the country with him, you would need to physically be in the country before him, he couldn't go and then you follow at a later date, since the basis of him being there is because you, as his wife and EU citizen, are living there.

The site I linked you to lists the basics for the criteria to meet (being self-employed, working, etc) but if you want more detailed info, you could try calling the Immigrant Council of Ireland. 

http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/index.php

Re:  refusal stamps in his passport.  This shouldn't be an issue.  Indeed, if you have a look at the EU1 form, it only asks about past immigration issues (refusals/deportations) regarding Ireland.